Opinion
A23I0115 A23I0116
01-10-2023
VICTOR DWAYNE SPARROW v. THE STATE.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
Facing charges for cruelty to children and child molestation, Victor Dwayne Sparrow seeks interlocutory review of two orders. In Case No. A23I0116, he seeks review of a magistrate court order transferring his case to Cobb County Superior Court for further prosecution. In Case No. A23I0115, he seeks review of a superior court order denying him bond. We lack jurisdiction.
Sparrow initially filed these applications in the Supreme Court of Georgia, which found no basis for its jurisdiction and transferred the applications to this Court. See Cases No. S23I0267; S23I0270 (Nov. 17, 2022).
Both transfer orders and orders denying pre-trial bond are interlocutory orders. See Mullinax v. State, 271 Ga. 112, 112 (1) (515 S.E.2d 839) (1999) (orders denying pre-trial bond); In the Interest of W. L., 335 Ga.App. 561, 562-563 (782 S.E.2d 464) (2016) (transfer orders). In order to appeal these orders, Sparrow was required to comply with the interlocutory appeal procedure, including obtaining a certificate of immediate review from the trial court. See OCGA § 5-6-34 (b). Sparrow, however, has not provided any certificates of immediate review from the trial court with his application materials. His failure to comply with the interlocutory appeal procedure deprives us of jurisdiction to consider these applications. See Mullinax, 271 Ga. at 112 (1); W. L, 335 Ga.App. at 563. Accordingly, these applications are hereby DISMISSED.
We also note it that appears from the application materials that Sparrow may be represented by counsel. "A criminal defendant in Georgia does not have the right to represent himself and also be represented by an attorney, and pro se filings by represented parties are therefore unauthorized and without effect." Tolbert v. Toole, 296 Ga. 357, 363 (3) (767 S.E.2d 24) (2014) (citation and punctuation omitted).